


Upon the Mountain

by miss_grey



Series: The Mountain Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, hurt!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-21 05:25:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_grey/pseuds/miss_grey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel stumbles upon an injured Dean Winchester while on a hike.  Now, he has to help him get down the mountain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon the Mountain

 

 

           The storm came out of nowhere.  Thunderheads poured over the mountain peaks—had been building out of line of sight for a while, it seemed—and brought the wrath of God with them.  Castiel lived on the mountain and he knew the devastation that the summer storms could bring.  He settled his walking stick into a rhythm and began making his way down the mountain face, praying that he reached level ground before the skies opened up. 

            Lightning cracked overhead, dangerously close.  Thunder rumbled and shook the land.  He nimbly made his way over boulders and through crevices in the stones, used to the paths that he’d helped to tread over years of living in and with this place.  A jagged edge of lightning flashed and crackled two ridges over.  He had to move faster.  The grips of his shoes clung tightly to the path underfoot, made dangerous by the slippery gravel produced over millennia of wear.  But Castiel never slipped—this land was in his blood, it was a part of him, and it was instinct to navigate safely around the boulders and shrubbery that soon morphed into larger trees and deeper ravines.

            He glanced up at the sky: the rain was coming, a dark wall in the distance, but he had time to cross this one ravine if he moved quickly.  He set his walking stick into the earth and used it to propel himself forward, down, down, down, until his feet slammed into the silken sand at the bottom, washed fine by the steady slide of time and the rage of summer storms.

            He was straightening from his crouch when he heard it: a sharp intake of breath that was not his own.  He willed his heartbeat to slow so that he might hear where the sound came from.  All was silent but for the distant rumble of the storm, then, a gasp of pain.  “Hello?”  Castiel called, ears sharp while he scanned the ravine floor.

            “Help!”  A voice hollered back.  “Please—is someone there?”  Castiel hurried toward the sound, feet slapping against the sand as he ran up the wash.  He could hear labored breathing now, deep pulls of air.  In the end, he nearly stumbled over the man, half-sprawled, perched on his elbows, body sagging from strain and exhaustion. 

            “Oh, God.”  Castiel whispered, looking down at the man whose face was screwed up in pain, skin pale against his bright red flannel.  His left leg was pinned between a jumble of rocks.  Castiel crouched next to the man, put a hand to his face until the man opened his eyes.  Bright green, rimmed in red, glazed with pain and unshed tears, stared back at him like he was a miracle.  “What happened?”

            The man huffed, a timid grin spreading across his lips.  “Oh man, I’m so glad you’re real.  I thought I was imagining things.”

            Castiel frowned, more worried now.  “How long have you been here?”

            The man shrugged.  “Few hours, I think?  It’s hard to tell.  I think I passed out.  When I woke up, it was dark.”

            The words sent Castiel shivering. “It’s not night-time.  There’s a storm about to break.”

            “Oh.”  His voice held no inflection now.

            “It’s about to pour on us.  We’re in a ravine.  I need to get you out of here.”

            The man laughed again, but this time it held a shade of hysteria.  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good.”

            “Now: tell me what happened so I can assess your injuries before I attempt to move these rocks.”

            The man licked his lips, tilted his head back to stare up at the ever-darkening sky.  “Me and my brother were hiking.  We left the trail.  We were so stupid—we saw the wall of the ravine and thought it would be a fun idea to climb down it without gear.  We were maybe halfway down when a section broke off—guess it couldn’t bear my weight—and I went down with it.  I landed on my back and it came down on top of me.  Knocked the air outta my lungs, and my whole body hurts like a bitch, but I think my leg’s the worst of it.”

            “What about your brother?  What happened to him?”

            “We tried to shift the rocks, but couldn’t do it.  He didn’t want to leave me, but it didn’t make any sense for him to stay.  Can’t get cell reception up here.  I told him he needed to go get help.  So he was gonna hike back down the mountain ‘til his cell started working again and call for help.”

            Castiel let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He’d been afraid something more tragic had happened to the other man.  “Alright.  If it really has been hours, he should have been able to reach someone by now.  He is probably waiting for an emergency crew so that he can lead them to you.  But we cannot wait.  Do you know what a flash flood is?”  The man nodded, squeezing his eyes shut.  “We need to get out of this ravine before that happens.”

            The man nodded sharply.  “Alright—tell me what I need to do.”

            Castiel was reluctant to move this man.  There was no telling what damage was done during the fall, but if they didn’t get to higher ground and under some sort of cover soon, odds were that they’d both be washed away and drowned.  “I need to see if I can move these rocks.”

            “Sammy already tried, man.  He’s a big dude…couldn’t get them off.”

            Castiel found himself looking around the ravine for any sort of tool.  Nothing.  He’d have to use what he already had.  “No offense to your brother, but I doubt he knows this mountain like I do.”

            The man huffed.  “Whatever.  If you can get me outta this, I’m not gonna argue.”

            Castiel nodded, dropping his pack.  “Alright.  I’m going to use my walking stick as a lever and try to roll the rocks off.  I don’t know what the damage is to your leg yet.  This will likely be incredibly painful.  Just… try to stay with me, alright?”

            The man nodded.  “Sure thing.”

            The man was right; there was no shifting the rocks with hands alone.  They were too heavy.  So Castiel moved around the slew of boulders and gravel until he found a spot that looked like it might serve as a good balance point.  He closed his eyes and sent up a prayer that the wood wouldn’t snap and then he was easing the walking stick into a crevice in the stones.  Castiel altered the angle until he felt a slight give, and then he pressed down, firmly but gently, until the rock started to groan.  He shifted to the side, suddenly, and it rolled off the pile with a thud.  The man gasped and when Castiel looked at him, his eyes were clenched tightly in pain.  “Are you alright?”

            The man sucked in a breath and nodded.  “Yeah, just… it moved and I… I really felt it, man.”

            As Castiel was placing the walking stick for a second time, the clouds above let forth an echoing boom and then Castiel heard something that made his heart stutter.  It was a hissing sound, growing steadily louder.  “What is your name?”  Castiel gritted, trying to remain calm.

            “Um… it’s Dean.  Winchester.”

            “Dean.  I need you to stay calm.  It’s starting to rain.  I need you to help me now.  When I move these rocks, I need you to try to pull yourself free as soon as you are able, do you understand?”

            “Yeah.”  Dean sucked in another heaving breath then braced his hands firmly against the pile of rocks so that he could shove away.

            “Alright.”  Castiel levered another boulder off but it wasn’t enough.  The hissing sound transformed into a curtain of rain that came at them like a freight train, dumping buckets of water on them within moments.  Castiel’s heart gave another leap but he focused on his task.  Pried another stone loose.  “Can you move?”  And another.

            “Almost.”  The muscles in Dean’s arms were bunching with the strain of trying to pull himself free but it wasn’t enough.  Castiel aimed for a larger boulder this time, leaned his weight against the lever, and pressed against it.  The boulder rolled a few inches.  Castiel gave another heave.  The crack of the walking stick snapping in half echoed in the ravine.  Castiel leapt forward and began scrabbling at the smaller stones with his hands, desperate to pry them free.  He could hear a dull roaring in the distance.

            “Dean, I need you to pull.  Now.”

            Dean nodded, grit his teeth, and pulled just as Castiel shoved the large boulder with all of his weight.  A scream ripped from Dean’s throat as he pulled free, crawling backward away from the pile of stones.  His jeans were in tatters, smeared with blood and mud, and Castiel could see what he thought must be bone poking out from a hole in the cloth.  Dean collapsed back against the mud, panting, squeezing his eyes shut. 

            “Dean, I understand that you are in pain, but we need to get out of this ravine _now_.  I can hear the water coming.”

            Dean gave one sharp nod, opened his eyes, and held out a hand.  Castiel leaned down to grasp it with his own and he heaved the man up onto his good leg, the other dangling at an awkward angle.  Dean hissed.  “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay, let’s do this.”

            Another flash of lightning crashed not far from where they were trapped and Castiel ducked his head instinctively.  The roaring was growing louder.  He hauled Dean over to the wall of the ravine and Dean hobbled along, doing his best, one arm wrapped around Castiel’s shoulders, the other grasping desperately at the wall.  Castiel wound one arm around Dean’s waist, fingers hooking into the belt he found there.  “Hold on to me, tightly, Dean.  We need to climb as high as we can.  The water is coming down the ravine.”

            His fingers dug into the earth, scrabbling for purchase amidst the rocks and the mud, and he set his boots firmly into any foothold he could grasp, using his legs to propel him forward and up.  Dean clambered up next to him, panting and shaking.  Castiel moved one foot after another.  Slowly, inch by painstaking inch, they crawled upward.  Not far above their heads, tree roots protruded from the earth.  “Dean, do you see the roots?  I need you to grab them and use them to pull yourself up.”

            Dean stretched upward until his fingers tangled in the thick roots.  “I have it but… I don’t think I’m strong enough.  I feel like I’m about to black out.”

            “I know, Dean, I know.  But I need you to try.  Stay with me just a little bit longer.  Come on, now, I’ve got you.”  Dean pulled himself forward, his entire body shaking with the strain.  Castiel gripped him tight and dug his knees into the earth to gain better traction.  He heaved himself upward, pulling Dean along with him.  He glanced up, panting, trying to see through the onslaught of rain.  “Just a bit further, Dean. There is a patch of flat land just up ahead.”  He glanced over his shoulder then swiftly wished he hadn’t.  A wall of brown water was roaring through the top of the ravine, crashing, shaking the earth.  The ground was slippery beneath his hands and feet but he pressed on.  He was able to make it halfway up to the flat area and dig in before he reached down.  He blinked rain out of his face.  “Dean, can you lift your leg up?”  The man nodded weakly.  “Brace your foot against my knee and push yourself up as far as you can go.”  Castiel wasn’t sure whether the trembling was from Dean or the water below when the man pressed his foot into Castiel’s thigh and threw himself forward, his cry of pain echoing in the canyon when his injured leg scraped against the ground.  Castiel shoved against Dean’s hips, pushing him the rest of the way up to the flat outcropping, and then, with the last of his strength, heaved himself up after.  He collapsed as soon as he reached the top, gasping for air and shivering in the downpour.  Dean was splayed out next to him, eyes closed, breathing ragged.  Castiel glanced over the edge and watched as the wall of water ripped the boulders away in a violent flurry and gouged at the walls of the ravine.  Castiel slumped back, exhausted.  Dean still hadn’t moved and Castiel realized that he must have lost consciousness finally.  So Castiel reached for him, pulled him into a sitting position against his chest, and held him.  There was nothing left to do now but wait the storm out.

 

* * *

 

 

            The rain had long since stopped, leaving the ground cold and muddy.  The cold seeped through Castiel’s layers of clothes and skin right into the core of him, freezing.  He felt he was also on the verge of losing consciousness.  Dean was a dead weight against him, skin clammy and covered in goose bumps.  His breaths were short, labored, and Castiel wondered if he had gone into shock.  Castiel wished he knew what to do for Dean, but unfortunately he wasn’t a medical professional nor had he ever been partial to medical shows.  Sharing his body heat and remaining with the injured man was the only thing he could think to do.

 

* * *

 

 

            Castiel jerked awake, eyes blinking open in the dark.  Night had truly fallen over the mountain.  Castiel was slumped, half-sitting, half-lying against the wall of the ravine, with Dean cradled in his arms.  Both were wet and shaking.  He looked around himself, blearily, for whatever had woken him.  That’s when he heard it, the echo of a voice screaming his companion’s name, and saw the solid beam of a flashlight sweep up the ravine from below.  A second later, it was joined by two others and more voices.  Castiel struggled up to a sitting position and bellowed “We’re here!  Up here!”  He croaked.  One of the beams swept over him and he waved his free hand wildly.  “Help, we need help!  Dean is unconscious!”

            There was the wet, grinding sounds of boots on damp gravel and then a tall man was climbing up the side of the ravine, his young face a mix of panic and relief in the glow of the searchlight.  “Oh my God, Dean!”  He gasped, reaching out for his brother.  Castiel felt his own arm tighten protectively around the man.

            “Please—his leg is broken: the bone is sticking out.  And I think…I think he’s in shock.”

            The man nodded frantically.  “Right, you’re right.”  He turned to holler over his shoulder “He’s here, unconscious, with a broken leg!”

            And another voice called up from below “We’re bringing the stretcher!”

            The man sighed, ran shaking hands through his hair, and then his eyes focused on Castiel as if he’d just noticed he was there.  “You saved my brother.”

            Castiel gave a short nod.  “I did what I could for him.”

            The medical crew reached the outcropping then and pulled Dean out of his arms.  He released the man reluctantly, doing so only because their uniforms proclaimed these people to be trained professionals, and Castiel knew that Dean had to get off of the mountain as soon as possible.  They were speaking to one another, using medical jargon that Castiel didn’t understand, so he focused instead on Dean’s face, pale and streaked with mud.  His eyes lingered until Dean was strapped securely to the stretcher and was being carried back down.  Then there was a light in his face, and he was being asked questions about his name, and whether he had any injuries, and had he hit his head?  “No, no,” Castiel protested weakly, waving them off.  “I’m simply exhausted and I’ve been in the cold for a very long time.”  One of the men asked him whether he could walk unaided or if they needed another stretcher.  “I… I can make it down this mountain on my own.”  He decided, and stood on wobbly legs.  A strong hand caught his arm as he swayed and the voice of Dean’s brother assured the medic “I’ll help him.”

 

* * *

 

 

            He wasn’t sure how they made it down the mountain.  When he tried to recall later, he discovered that the details were all a blur.  Needless to say, it took longer than anyone would have liked, but they made it, and only a little worse for wear.  An ambulance was waiting for them when they reached the end of the trail.  Dean was loaded into the vehicle with the medical team and they sped off in a blaze of lights toward the hospital.  Dean’s brother pulled Castiel along to a large black car and settled him into the passenger seat before climbing behind the wheel.  They followed closely behind the ambulance.

 

 

            Castiel must have fallen asleep again because the next thing he knew, Dean’s brother was shaking him lightly, murmuring “We’re here.”  Castiel popped the door open and stood shakily, feeling all his bones creak with the effort.  He climbed the steps to the emergency room slowly, with Dean’s brother at his side, and once they were inside, the brother insisted that Castiel be examined while they awaited news concerning Dean.

            Castiel grumbled that he was fine, but in all honesty he was too tired to fight, so he allowed a nurse to poke and prod at him while he slumped with his eyes half-mast.  Finally, the examination was done and her conclusion: aside from some bruises and scrapes, Castiel’s only ailment was exhaustion.  She offered to arrange for a room for him to sleep, or to call a cab so that he could go home, but he insisted on returning to the waiting room.  He would not be moved until he’d been assured of the welfare of the other man.

 

 

            Dean’s brother was tense, pacing the empty waiting room when Castiel staggered back through the swinging doors but he paused and gave a tight smile.  “Everything check out okay?”  He asked.

            Castiel nodded and slumped into one of the chairs.  He felt a bit like he’d been hit by a Mack truck.  He was curling into the seat, trying to get comfortable so he could catch another nap while he waited, but Dean’s brother flopped into the seat next to him, shattering that hope.  The taller man stared at him, seeming to scour him for all knowable details before he relaxed slightly and said “So I know this is a weird time to be asking, considering… everything.  But… who are you?  What were you doing up there?”

            “I’m Castiel Novak,” Castiel said, holding out his hand.  Dean’s brother took it with a grin, murmuring “Sam,” as he did.  Castiel gave a short nod.  “Sam.  I live in the foothills of the mountain.  Today I was simply enjoying an afternoon hike.”  Castiel chuckled, shaking his head.

            Sam frowned, a line forming between his brows.  “An afternoon hike.  Simple as that?”  He huffed.  “You ended up saving my brother’s life.  What the hell happened?”

            Castiel shrugged helplessly.  “I realized the storm was coming in fast and was on my way back home.  I decided to take a shortcut through the ravine and came across your brother.  He explained the situation but I realized that with the rain… if he were to stay, he would likely get caught in the flood.  We were able to get him free, but I think he ended up doing more damage to his leg when he pulled it from the rocks.  It was a struggle to get out of the ravine, and by that time it was pouring.  In all honesty, we barely made it before the canyon was ravaged by the flash flood.  Any longer and we both would have been goners.”

            Sam was staring at him with a startling intensity then.  “You stayed.”

            “Of course.”

            Sam shook his head ruefully.  “I don’t know how I can ever repay you, man.”

            Castiel frowned.  “There’s nothing to repay, Sam.  I only hope that Dean will be alright.”

 

* * *

 

 

           An hour and twenty minutes later, the doctor met them both in the waiting room and informed them that Dean had a broken leg, a concussion, multiples lacerations and bruises, and had indeed gone into shock, but then he assured them that with rest and care, Dean would make a full recovery.  He’d been admitted for observation, at least for the night.  The doctor advised them both to go home and get some rest, saying that they could come back during visiting hours in the morning.

            Sam’s shoulders slumped, but he thanked the doctor earnestly.  After the man left, Sam turned to Castiel and said, “Come on, man, let me take you home.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first installment in a series of connecting episodes.


End file.
